{"id":13007,"date":"2025-09-13T12:31:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=13007"},"modified":"2025-09-13T12:31:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:31:18","slug":"downton-abbey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2025\/09\/13\/downton-abbey\/","title":{"rendered":"Downton Abbey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Downton Abbey <\/strong>(2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 122 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (thematic elements, some suggestive material, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Michael Engler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Julian Fellowes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Lunn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ben Smithard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 20, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael C. Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Rob James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Douglas Reith, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Imelda Staunton, Tuppence Middleton, Geraldine James, Simon Jones, Stephen Campbell Moore, David Haig, Max Brown, Kate Phillips, Andrew Havill, Philippe Spall, Richenda Carey, Marina Baibara, Oliver & Zac Barker, Fifi Hart, Eva & Karina Samms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $96.9M (US)\/$194.2M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0Blimey, it\u2019s great to see the gang at Downton Abbey again! If you told me a year ago that I\u2019d open my review of Downton Abbey<\/strong> with those words, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it. At the time, I never saw a single episode of the popular British period drama series that ran for six seasons on ITV (UK) and PBS (US). That recently changed. In my household, summers are for binge-watching shows and miniseries we missed during their original run. We spent the whole of August (plus a week) watching the entire series of Downton Abbey. I figured it would help in my review of Downton Abbey<\/strong> the movie. While I\u2019m glad I watched the series (it\u2019s a great show!), it turns out I needn\u2019t have bothered. The movie is preceded by a short piece in which two main characters, butler Carson (Carter) and housekeeper Mrs. Hughes (Logan), sum up the entire series by reintroducing the main characters and recounting the major events. Had I still been a Downton Abbey virgin (is that a thing?), it would have been helpful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I suppose it would be rather simplistic and trite to say that the movie Downton Abbey<\/strong> is like an extended episode of the show which centered on the Crawleys, an aristocratic family living in a huge Yorkshire manor during the reign of King George V. Storylines focused on members of the family and household staff. In that respect, it\u2019s similar to Upstairs, Downstairs and Gosford Park. When we meet up with everybody again, it\u2019s 1927 and news of a visit from the royal couple has the place in an uproar. Lady Mary (Dockery), happily married to Henry Talbot (Goode), is in a tizzy trying to get everything in order in time for their arrival. Downstairs, head butler Thomas Barrow (Collier) is at a loss over what to do upon learning that the royal staff will be taking over household duties for the duration of the royal couple\u2019s stay. Lady Mary asks Carson to temporarily come out of retirement to resume his old position at the Abbey, something that really puts Barrow\u2019s nose out of joint.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Okay, so we have two main plotlines; the Crawleys anticipating the King and Queen\u2019s visit and the Downton staff\u2019s rivalry with the persnickety royal staff. There some business involving estranged cousin Lady Bagshaw (Staunton, Vera Drake) and her eventual heir. Dowager Countess Violet (Smith) is in a huff over the likelihood that her son Lord Grantham (Bonneville), the rightful heir, will be passed over for…. I won\u2019t say. The movie also touches on the following: assistant cook Daisy\u2019s (McShera) anxiety over setting a date for her wedding to footman Andy (Fox); an assassination plot that Tom Branson (Leech), a known Irish Republican, gets drawn into; a household staff member\u2019s (NOT a Bates this time) run-in with the police, the unhappy marriage of Princess Mary (Phillips, Peaky Blinders), Lady Edith (Carmichael) fretting over her husband Bertie (Paton) accepting a job that will take him out of the country at an important time and a potential new romance for Tom. Okay, maybe Downton Abbey<\/strong> is more like an entire season compressed into two hours. Either way, there\u2019s a lot going on.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here\u2019s the deal. If you like Downton Abbey<\/strong> the series, there\u2019s no reason you won\u2019t like Downton Abbey<\/strong> the movie as well. A couple of the subplots, the assassination plot in particular, feel contrived. The main plot about the royal visit, on the other hand, is rather brilliant. Given the show\u2019s propensity to work historical events into the storylines, it\u2019s only natural that the King and Queen would show up at some point. It also allows various characters to air their true feelings about the monarchy- e.g. Daisy is no fan, Carson is a big supporter. In addition, the rivalry between the two staffs adds equal notes of tension and humor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The actors have been playing their characters for years and nobody misses a step here. Countess Violet is as sharp-tongued as ever while Isobel (Wilton) is still a perfect foil. Their back-and-forth banter is still funny. Lesley Nicol is still great as the perfectionist cook Miss Patmore; I just wish the movie had thought to include her budding romance with Albert Mason, Daisy\u2019s father-in-law from her first (very short) marriage. Even just a quick mention would have sufficed. To be honest, I like all the actors and the characters they play, even the devious Barrows. I have zero complaints in this area.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Visually, Downton Abbey<\/strong> is as beautiful as ever; perhaps more so on the big screen. Show creator Julian Fellowes, who wrote the witty and engaging screenplay, has always been right on the money with the show\u2019s aesthetic. The sets, costumes and production design are gorgeous in their period authenticity. Director Michael Engler is no stranger to this era; he directed this spring\u2019s The Chaperone about silent film actress Louise Brooks. Lovely to look at and fun to watch, Downton Abbey<\/strong> should delight fans and possibly convert non-fans. I wouldn\u2019t mind if they made a new movie every two or three years.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Downton Abbey (2019)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus\/Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 122 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (thematic elements, some suggestive material, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Michael Engler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Julian Fellowes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Lunn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ben Smithard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 20, 2019 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael C. Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Downton-Abbey-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13007"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13035,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13007\/revisions\/13035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}